CICERO AGAINST CATILINE

Marcus Tullius Cicero, the greatest name in Roman literature, was born near Arpinum, a town of Latium, January 3rd, B.C. 106. His father, a man of large views and liberal culture, belonged to the equites, and possessed an hereditary estate in the neighbourhood of the town. To give his sons, Marcus and Quintus, that education which could not be obtained at a provincial school, Removes to Rome, B.C. 92. he removed to Rome, where the young Ciceros were placed under the best teachers of the day. Early teachers. From Aelius they learned philosophy; from Archias, the mechanism of verse, though not the inspiration of poetry. Early works. A translation of the Phaenomena and Prognostics of Aratus, and a mythological poem on the fable of Pontius Glaucus were the first fruits of Cicero’s genius. Assumes the toga virilis B.C. 89. On assuming the toga virilis, B.C. 89, Cicero attached himself to the jurist Scaevola, who was then in the zenith of his fame. Serves his first campaign, B.C. 88. In the following year he served a brief campaign in the Social War under Cn. Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great. Studies philosophy. Philosophical studies had, however, more attractions for him than arms. Under Philo, the Academic, and Diodotus, the Stoic, he laid the foundation of that Eclecticism which is so observable in his philosophical works. Pleads his first cause pro Quinct. At the age of 25 he pleaded his first cause, and in the following year he defended Sextus Roscius of Ameria, who had been accused of parricide by Chrysogonus, one of Sulla’s favourites. In this cause he acquired the acquittal of his client, but incurred the enmity of the dictator. Goes to Athens, Asia, and Rhodes. With the ostensible object of regaining his health he went to Athens, where he studied philosophy under Antiochus, the Academic, and under Zeno and Phaedrus, both Epicureans. From Athens he travelled through Asia Minor and finally settled for a short time at Rhodes, attending there the lectures of Molo, the rhetorician. Returns home. Returning home, he at once entered on that political career to which his commanding ability destined him, Elected quaestor of Sicily. and was elected quaestor of Sicily. During his term of office he so endeared himself to the inhabitants of the island by his integrity that they selected him as their patron at Rome. Indicts Verres, B.C. 70. In their behalf he subsequently conducted the prosecution against Verres, who was charged with extortion. Elected aedile, 69 B.C. His success in this cause, and his consequent popularity, procured him the office of curule aedile. Praetor, 66 B.C. After the usual interval he was chosen praetor, and, while holding this office, His first political speech. delivered the first of his political harangues, Pro lege Manilia, 65 B.C. in defence of the bill proposed by C. Manilius to invest Pompey with supreme command in the Mithradatic War. Consul, 63 B.C. Two years afterwards he gained the consulship, the goal of his ambition. His consulate is memorable for the bold attempt of Catiline to subvert the government—an attempt which was frustrated by the patriotic zeal of the consul. Unpopularity of Cicero. Cicero had quickly soared to the pinnacle of fame: as quickly did he fall. In crushing the conspiracy of Catiline questionable means had been employed. Causes of Exile. Clodius, his implacable enemy, revived a law exiling all who had been guilty of putting to death Roman citizens without a formal trial before the people. Deserted by the Triumvirs. The Triumvirs, too, were disgusted with the vanity of the man who was constantly reminding the people that he was the “Saviour of Italy” and the “Father of His Country.” Deserted by his friends, and exposed to the hatred of his foes, Goes into exile, 58 B.C. Cicero went to Thessalonica into voluntary exile. The wanton destruction of his villas and the insults offered to his wife and children soon, however, produced a feeling of sympathy for the exiled orator. Recall, 51 B.C. His return to Rome was attended with all the pomp and circumstance of a triumphant general. Henceforth his voice was little heard in the Senate. Elected Augur, 53 B.C. After his return he was appointed to a seat in the College of Augurs. In obtaining this office he had placed himself under obligations to both Pompey and Caesar, and this may account for his neutrality in the civil struggles of the time. Proconsul, 52 B.C. He was subsequently appointed, much against his will, proconsul of Cilicia, where his administration was marked by the same integrity as he had displayed in Sicily. Cicero arrived in Italy from Cilicia on the 4th of January, B.C. 49, just after the breaking out of the civil war between Pompey and Caesar. Sides with Pompey. After some hesitation he decided to take the part of Pompey, but his support was never cordial: it was a source of weakness rather than of strength. Pharsalia, B.C. 48. When the battle of Pharsalia decided the fate of the Roman world, he returned to Brundisium to await the arrival of the victorious Caesar, Pardoned by Caesar. who generously extended a full and frank pardon to the vacillating orator. Cicero from this time withdrew from active public life and devoted himself to philosophy, except during the period immediately preceding his death. Gloom. The loss of his daughter Tullia, the divorce of his wife Terentia, and the unhappy marriage with Publilia darkened the gloom which settled on his declining years. His high exultation on the assassination of Caesar was of only momentary duration, and was succeeded by dark forebodings of Marc Antony’s designs. As soon as the plans of the scheming triumvir were evident, His Philippic Orations. Cicero attacked Antony’s character with all the powers of invective. Again he was the idol of the people and the champion of senatorial rights, but his popularity was only the last gasp of the dying liberties of Rome. Antony, Octavianus, and Lepidus form the second triumvirate. The second triumvirate was formed, and each member of it sacrificed his friends to glut the vengeance of his colleagues; and to appease the brutal Antony, Cicero was sacrificed by Octavianus. Refusing to seek refuge in exile, he determined to die in the land he had saved, Killed at Caieta, B.C. 43. and was slain at Caieta by the emissaries of the bloodthirsty triumvir.

The works of Cicero are:—

(1) Orations: Of the eighty speeches composed by him we possess, either entire or in part, fifty-nine. (See list).

(2) Philosophical works.

(3) Correspondence: Comprising thirty-six books, sixteen of which are addressed to Athens, three to his brother Quintus, one to Brutus, and sixteen to his different friends.

(4) Poems: Consisting of the heroic poems, Alcyones, Marcus, Elegy of Tamelastis, and Translations of Homer and Aratus.

L. Sergius Catilina was a Roman patrician, born about 108 B.C. From his father he inherited nothing but a noble name. In the turbulent scenes of the Sullan rule, Catiline played a conspicuous part, to which his undoubted ability, his undaunted courage, his iron constitution, his depraved morals, and excessive cruelty notoriously fitted him. His crimes. He commenced his career by slaying, with his own hand, Q. Caecilius, his own brother-in-law, and by torturing to death M. Marius Gratidianus, a kinsman of Cicero. Though his youth was spent in open debauchery, and reckless extravagance, though he made away with his first wife and his son to marry the worthless and profligate Aurelia Orestilla, the guilty crimes of Catiline do not seem to have been any barrier to his advancement to political honors. Offices held. He obtained the praetorship B.C. 68, and in the following year was propraetor of Africa. He returned to Rome B.C. 66 to press his suit for the consulship. The two consuls who had the highest votes were P. Autronius Paetus and P. Cornelius Sulla, both of whom were convicted of bribery, and their election was declared void. Their places were filled by L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus. Catiline was prevented from being a candidate in consequence of an impeachment brought against him for mal-administration of his province of Africa by P. Clodius Pulcher, afterwards the implacable enemy of Cicero. First Conspiracy. Autronius and Catiline, exasperated by their disappointment, formed a league with Cn. Calpurnius Piso to murder the consuls on the first of January, to seize the fasces, and to occupy Spain. The plan leaked out, and was postponed till the fifth of February. The scheme, however, failed in consequence of Catiline giving the signal too soon. Resolutions were passed by the Senate condemning the conspiracy, but these were quashed by the intercession of a tribune. Some say that both Caesar and Crassus were involved in this First Conspiracy of Catiline. About this time, Catiline was acquitted of extortion (res repetundae), but the trial rendered him penniless. About the beginning of June, 64 B.C., he began to plot more systematically to carry out his plans for a general revolution. A meeting was called for all those interested in the conspiracy. To this convention, eleven senators, four knights, and many of the noted men from the provincial towns assembled to hear the bold designs of the conspirator. Catiline’s Proposals. Catiline proposed that all debts should be cancelled (novae tabulae), that the wealthy citizens should be proscribed, that offices of honor and emolument should be divided among his friends, and that the leaders of the conspiracy should raise armies in Spain and in Mauretania. Again he was a candidate for the consulship, and again he was doomed to disappointment. Cicero and Antonius were chosen, the latter, however, by only a few centuries over Catiline. This defeat embittered the animosity between the two parties. The conspirator raised large sums of money on his own security and on the credit of his friends, sent arms to various parts of Italy, levied troops in Etruria, and sent Manlius a veteran of Sulla to take command of the newly raised forces. The slaves were to be armed, the buildings of the city set on fire, the citizens indiscriminately massacred, and a reign of terror and bloodshed was to be inaugurated. In the midst of all these schemes, Catiline stood again for the consulship (63 B.C.), and was thwarted by the wariness and exertions of Cicero, who checkmated his schemes at every turn. One of the conspirators was Q. Curius, a man weak and vacillating. The Conspiracy divulged. This man had a mistress, Fulvia, who was the repository of all his secrets. Alarmed at the audacious designs of the conspirators, she imparted her secrets to some of her acquaintances, and through her confidants the matter was betrayed to Cicero. After securing his personal safety, and withdrawing Antonius from the side of Catiline, the consul deferred the consular elections to lay before the Senate the whole conspiracy. First Speech against Catiline. At a meeting of the Senate, October 21st, 63, he told the Senators the danger that threatened the state. Many of those complicated in the conspiracy fled. By virtue of a decretum ultimum, which formula (consules videant, ne quid detrimenti respublica capiat) gave the consuls absolute civil and military power, Catiline was in danger of losing his life. Catiline, who was again a candidate for the consulship for 62 B.C., was rejected. An impeachment of sedition was also brought against him by L. Aemilius Paulus. On the 6th November, Catiline summoned the conspirators to the house of M. Porcius Laeca, and after accusing them of inactivity, he laid before him his plans. Cicero was to be removed, and L. Vargunteius, a senator, and C. Cornelius, a knight, were despatched to carry out the scheme, but were frustrated. Cicero called the Senate on November 8th, and delivered his first speech against Catiline, who, though overwhelmed with guilt, had still the audacity to appear among the senators.

Altogether four speeches were delivered against Catiline. In the final debate as to the sentence, it was decided to put the apprehended conspirators to death. This sentence was carried out against some. Catiline and most fell, however, in the field at Pistoria (62 B.C.), fighting with a valour worthy of a better cause.